Armed kidnappers ambushed a convoy conveying the remains of late FRSC Deputy Corps Commander Augustine Ikwue in Kogi State on Thursday, abducting nine mourners and demanding N450 million ransom, though the corpse was later recovered and buried in Benue State.
Armed men suspected to be kidnappers ambushed a convoy conveying the remains of a late Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Augustine O. Ikwue, to his hometown of Otukpo in Benue State, abducting nine mourners in the process.
The attack occurred around 6pm on Thursday along the Ochadamu-Ejule road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, as the convoy made its way to Ikwue’s burial.
The FRSC officer had died in Osogbo, Osun State capital, following a brief illness.
Kogi State FRSC Sector Commander, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the attack, disclosing that nine mourners — including two FRSC operatives — were seized by the assailants.
According to him, the corpse was later abandoned by the attackers around Ejule community and recovered by security operatives on Friday after an intense search, before being handed over to the family.
Ikwue was subsequently buried in his hometown of Otukpo, Benue State, on Saturday.
Fagge said the kidnappers reached out to the deceased’s family using his own cellphone, demanding a huge ransom for the release of the abducted mourners.
The abductors were said to be demanding N450 million for the freedom of their captives.
In response, security operatives — including the Army, police, hunters, and vigilantes — have been mobilised to the area in a bid to rescue the victims and track down the assailants.
The incident has stirred concern among members of the public, many of whom decried the attack as a sign that bandits now show no regard even for funeral processions and the dead.
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